Sunday, May 29, 2011

Book Review: "The Fitting Room" by Kelly Minter

Summary from BN.com: Kelly Minter explores what it means—in real life—to "clothe" ourselves (Col. 3:12) in Christian virtues like forgiveness, joy, patience, compassion, and more. Can we really "dress up" in the character of Christ? Kelly Minter says the answer is yes—if we let the Master Designer do the fitting. This relatable book offers insightful Scripture study with real-life stories and simple, down-to-earth explanations of tricky concepts such as justification and sanctification—stitching it all together with dry humor and down-to-earth honesty. There are no gimmicks, no guilt trips, just an irresistible invitation for women to enjoy a spiritual makeover—to put on a life that's personally tailored by the One who knows and loves them best.

I'm normally not a non-fiction reader. Oh, I like memoirs and enjoy a good narrative history book (partially because of my major) but overall I don't really like non fiction like some others do. Most of the time it's because the writing is so dry. The topic may be interesting but the author doesn't seem to know how to actually write to keep an audience. They may be knowledgeable and passionate about their topic but actually putting it in words is hard for them to do.

That being said, I really enjoyed reading this book. Minter takes a subject that is very dear to a lot of Christians: self image and how we can work on it in our quest for a deeper relationship with Christ. She uses several passages of scripture to get her points across but it doesn't feel overbearing or repetitive. The main points I walked away with is that we need to stop trying so hard to make things work for us and instead allow Christ to do the work for you. Only then can we have the peace in our lives that we crave so much.

One thing I really enjoyed about Minter's writing is that she's FUNNY. Yes there are serious topics discussed in the book, as well as passages that are supposed to help you think about deeper spiritual issues. But sprinkled throughout the book are Minter's quirky and hilarious comments. These help to revive the reader and also give you a good guffaw while reading. This is one of the reasons why I normally don't read a lot of Christian non fiction. The writers tend to just keep going on and on in a dry monotone. Here, Minter breaks up that repetition and "wakes up" the reader by helping them relate and get back into the story with a quick laugh and her dry humor.

One last thing to say about this book: I was eager to pick it up for a certain reason. Minter's dad is my pastor. I had no idea she was an author or a recording artist when I started attending our church and I didn't discover the connection between the two until earlier this year in fact. It was very interesting to hear about him from her perspective as he has mentioned her in his messages several times. That being said, I'm really glad that I enjoyed and got a lot out of her book. It looks like the book is targeted at women but I think all readers will enjoy her work.